01. Timeline
What happened
Pieced together from police, local officials, and news reports. Times are approximate.
The ground shook near Langtang, close to the Tibet border. Investigators think this may have set the flood off.
The Bhotekoshi River suddenly rose at the border. It wasn't raining nearby, so plain rain wasn't the cause.
Timure and Syabrubesi, two border towns, were hit hardest. Nine bank branches were swept away. The local helipad was destroyed, which slowed rescue by air.
The flood reached towns further downstream: Betrawati, Trishuli Bazaar, Devighat. Six power stations were damaged.
Nepal's Army, Police, and Armed Police are searching for survivors with helicopters. China has confirmed deaths on its side too.
02. Geography
Where the water came from
The flood didn't start in Nepal. It started in the mountains inside Tibet, then dropped over 3,000 metres in height before reaching the first Nepali town.
This is the real place, from satellite. Tap a location below to see what happened there.
Real satellite map, via Google Maps. Location pins above are approximate, matched from the reporting in Sources, not survey-grade GPS. Upstream the river is called Bhotekoshi, past the join it's called Trishuli. Same river, two names.
| Place | What happened |
|---|---|
| Timure | Border town. Hit first and hardest. Bank branches and customs post swept away. |
| Syabrubesi | Helipad destroyed, which slowed rescue flights. |
| Betrawati | Flood reached here further downstream, on the Trishuli. |
| Devighat | Furthest downstream site hit. Hydropower station damaged. |
Why this valley floods hard
The river drops about 3,000 metres in under 40 km, one of the steepest drops in the Himalaya. Water from a burst upstream can reach a village in under an hour. Almost no time to run.
It happened here before
This valley flooded before, in 2016. Two of the same power stations got damaged again this time, rebuilt in the same risky spot.
03. Cause
What may have caused it
No government has confirmed the cause yet. Ranked below from most to least likely, based on expert review so far. This will be corrected as officials learn more.
-
Most likely
Ice and rock fell into a mountain stream
Experts studying satellite photos from Planet Labs found a landslide of ice and rock in the Lhende river, about 20 km from the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. That likely blocked the stream, then let go all at once.
-
Also possible
A glacial lake burst
A lake of glacier meltwater, held back by ice, may have broken free on its own. This can happen with no rain at all, which matches what happened here.
-
Unclear link
A small earthquake beforehand
A small quake hit minutes before the flood. It may have shaken the blockage loose, or it may be unrelated. Not confirmed either way.
-
Why it's possible here
Thousands of hidden ice masses nearby
Scientists recently found over 130,000 rock-and-ice formations on the Tibetan plateau, far more than known before. They can dam or release water with little warning.
03b. By the numbers
Confirmed deaths, by country
Same event, both sides of the border. Numbers below are confirmed deaths only, not estimates, not missing.
Bars scaled to the larger figure, 157. China's confirmed count is 3. Small on this chart, but each number is a person. Missing-person counts (800+) aren't shown here since they're still being verified.
04. Live updates
Live updates
Death and damage counts are still being confirmed. Six power stations damaged so far.
Army, Police, and Armed Police searching by helicopter where landing is still possible.
China confirms deaths on its side, near Gyirong. Reviewing its own flood monitoring.
For missing-person reports or road closures, check these directly:
04b. On the ground
Photos from the ground
Real photos, shown the right way: embedded straight from where the photographer posted them, full credit attached, nothing copied onto our server.
Why we don't just copy Facebook photos
A photo someone posts stays theirs. Writing their name under it doesn't make copying it legal, that's a common mix-up. What actually works, and what real news sites do, is an official embed: the photo stays on Facebook's own server, we just display it live from there with a link back and full credit. That's allowed. Copying the image file onto our site is not, credit or no credit.
This section is empty on purpose, for now. We haven't yet found a specific, verified local photo with a public post we can embed and credit properly. Send one and we'll add it here within the hour, with your name (or "credit withheld" if you prefer), the date, and what's in the photo, in plain language.
For official photos right now, these government accounts post directly from the response:
05. Education
Understand it, prepare for the next one
This won't be the last flood like this. Warming is making mountain lakes and ice more unstable, faster than anyone can track them.
Why here, specifically
Nepal has over 21 mountain lakes marked as dangerous. Warming melts the ice holding them back. Steep valleys give towns almost no time to react.
The warning-time problem
A burst lake can reach a village in under an hour. Some lakes have warning sensors. Most, especially across the border, do not.
If you live near a mountain river, do this
Know a route uphill, not along the road. Roads follow rivers, and they flood first.
Loud river noise or rising water with no rain is the warning sign. Move first, ask questions later.
Keep ID, cash, meds, and a torch in one bag you can grab in the dark.
Pick a family meeting spot above the flood line. Phones stop working first.
If you run a shop or homestay by the river, plan to lose the ground floor. Know what's load-bearing.
06. Give
How to actually help
Every link here goes to Nepal's own government fund. This site never touches your money, it just points the way.
Prime Minister's Natural Disaster Relief Fund
Nepal's own government fund for disaster rescue and rebuilding. The only place this page recommends. Bank details below are transcribed from the Prime Minister's Office's own graphic.
| Bank | Account |
|---|---|
| Himalayan Bank (USD account) | 01905631210046 |
| Standard Chartered Bank Nepal | 01013243801 02013243801 |
| Rastriya Banijya Bank | 1130100003762001 1130100000006006 |
| Everest Bank | 00100105200270 00101102200012 |
| Nepal Bank | 00211600510039000003 00200100510039000001 |
| Global IME Bank | 00401010000057 00411010000005 |
| Nabil Bank | 1710017505285 |
| Agricultural Development Bank | 0100201002907014 |
Prime Minister's Relief Fund (general, not disaster-specific):
| Bank | Account |
|---|---|
| Rastriya Banijya Bank | 1430100000025006 1430100001164001 |
Official QR from PMO Nepal, going live this pass.
07. Sources
Sources
Every fact on this page traces back to one of these.
News reporting
Wikipedia, 2026 Nepal floods
CNN live coverage
NPR
US News (Reuters)
Al Jazeera
Local reporting and satellite analysis
The Week
Kathmandu Post
India TV News, satellite image analysis
What this page is not
Not a government page. Not affiliated with Nepal's government or any relief agency. An independent briefing. Numbers move fast in the first days of any disaster, so trust the sources above over this summary.